


An Unexpected Song

by Sunstar77



Category: Torchwood
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-29 04:16:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 3,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13919205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunstar77/pseuds/Sunstar77
Summary: A series of short fics, all dealing with Gwen and Owen, and their relationship.





	1. Toxic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _A guy like you should wear a warning._

Gwen Cooper glared at Owen Harper with all her might. She couldn't believe he just told everyone that they kissed! What on Earth had possessed her to suggest playing such a juvenile, adolescent game anyway? She renewed the strength of her glare, this time bolstered by the infuriating smirk he currently threw in her direction. The suggestion to collect firewood came as a welcome distraction, even if she had to work with Owen to do it. Gwen stomped into the forest, thinking the whole time of ways to murder the self-satisfied little prick. _Seriously,_ she thought pragmatically, _a guy like Owen should wear a warning. Danger, toxic to the opposite sex._


	2. I Hope I Don't Fall in Love with You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The guy you're with has up and split, the chair next to you's free._

Gwen sat between Tosh and Jack, listening to them tell her some story about Torchwood. Owen watched from his place at the bar where he waited for their order.

She grinned broadly, showing the gap between her front teeth. Owen liked that imperfection in her beauty. He picked up the glasses the bartender set down, balancing them carefully and turned.

Gwen caught his eye, raising an eyebrow to indicate she was impressed he could carry so many at once. He noticed Jack had gone missing and the chair next to Gwen was empty. Owen set the glasses down on the table and sat down next to her.

She smiled softly at Owen and reached for her glass. Owen returned the smile, for once without sarcasm or meanness. He really did like their new recruit. He just hoped he didn't fall in love with her.


	3. Slow Like Honey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _You moved like honey, through my dreams last night._

Owen moved inside Gwen, slow like honey sliding from the jar. This felt so different from their normal coupling. It had always been hard, fast like they might be caught at any moment, animal.

Not tonight though. Tonight had been slow. He dragged his fingers over her breasts and down, over her stomach until he touched her, making her yield to him until she slowly flew apart.


	4. I Hate Everything About You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I hate everything about you. Why do I love you?_

"Prat."

"Newbie."

"Wanker."

"Slag."

"Bastard."

"Cunt."

Gwen stared at Owen, mouth open, disbelieving look on her face. After a long silence, the couple staring at one another, each waiting for the other to walk away, Gwen spoke. 

"I hate you," she said very softly, voice full of hurt. Then she turned and ran.

***

Owen found her huddled against the damp wall of a dim, seldom used tunnel. He knelt beside her, hand on her shoulder. When she looked up, he could see her eyes were rimmed red from tears.

"Why do I love you?" she croaked roughly.

He put his arms around her, pulling her against his chest, silently apologizing.


	5. My Aphrodisiac is You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I just concede it, my aphrodisiac is you._

"You're joking!" Gwen exclaimed.

Jack shook his head, waving his fork back and forth. "No, seriously. Several cultures in fact."

"Powdered rhino horn? What'd you do, mix it in your tea?" Owen demanded. 

"You inhale it," Tosh spoke up. At the two disbelieving glances, she shrugged. "What? I took an elective at university about the mating habits of non-western cultures."

"I've always heard oysters work." Ianto reached for a container of mu shu pork.

"Eww." Gwen wrinkled her nose. "I'd prefer chocolate."

"Fallacies, both of them. Chocolate just releases endorphins so you feel good. Doesn't actually do anything for your prowess." Owen had his most lecture-y voice on.

Jack snorted. "Thank you, Doctor Harper."

"Nowadays, you can always take a pill to help out." Ianto suggested.

Tosh threw him a look. "That's fine for you guys. What about us girls?"

"Kama Sutra?" Owen offered.

Jack chuckled, shaking his head. "Overrated." Three heads turned in his direction. The fourth turned red. "Last time I tried it, I actually got complaints. Never happened before."

Tosh and Owen scoffed, declaring Jack to be a lair. Ianto turned even redder. Gwen leaned over, her lips close to Owen's ear.

"We don't need any of that stuff." He turned and looked at her. She gave him a cheeky smile. "My aphrodisiac is you."


	6. Entwined

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I wonder how I can go on and on._

Gwen looked at her mobile, feeling guilt creep over her. If she didn't answer, Rhys would get worried and keep calling.

"Hi hon," she forced cheerfulness into her voice.

_"Where are you, Gwen?"_ He sounded worried already.

"Still at work. Big case today," she lied through her teeth.

Rhys sighed. _"Oh. Then you won't be home for supper."_

"No, sorry."

_"I'll put a plate in the fridge for you to warm up when you get home then. Okay?"_

"Thanks, Rhys." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

_"Don't work to hard, Gwen. Love you."_

"I won't. Love you, too," she said quickly and hung up, shutting the phone off and tossing it aside.

Owen came from the ensuite, a towel wrapped around his waist. She looked him over and wondered how she could go on and on like this without the guilt eating her up inside.


	7. Going Under

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I'm going under, drowning in you._

Gwen kept telling herself it was the last time. Every time she went to Owen's flat, she said to herself it would be the last time.

Every time she lied to herself.

Every time she lied to Rhys, she felt as if she were sinking, slowly going under, drowning in her own lies.

Every time Owen touched her, she could breathe again. Until she started drowning in him instead.


	8. I WIsh I Never Saw the Sun Shine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _If I never saw the sunshine, baby, than maybe, I wouldn't mind the rain._

"You can be such a wanker sometimes, Owen. Do you know that?" Gwen threw the SUV into gear and sped off, leaving Owen standing in the middle of the street.

She made it a few miles before her anger melted into sorrow and she had to pull over due to tear blurred vision.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, Gwen found herself sobbing, big, heaving, loud sobs, tears and snot running down her face. She shook in the driver's seat as she cried, arms wrapped tightly around herself, as if she could keep the pieces of her suddenly broken heart together.

Did Owen know what he'd done to her? Did he know what he'd just taken away?

Maybe if she'd never seen the sunshine, she wouldn't mind the rain.


	9. It's Been a While

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _It's been a while since I've seen the way candles light your face._

Owen stared at his mobile. The screen showed him just one word and a number. He couldn't bring himself to dial it.

It'd been a while since he'd fucked anything up with someone this badly.

Reaching blindly for the glass of scotch on the table, he downed it all in one go and pressed the dial button.

She didn't answer. Probably screening her mobile to avoid him after the incident in the SUV. After several rings, her voice mail picked up.

"I'm sorry," he started, then sighed, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, head in one hand. "I've gone and fucked things up again. I seem to do that a lot." He laughed harshly. "Make this go away, Gwen, please. I can't stop thinking of you. How you laugh. How you cry. What you look like in candlelight. Gwen, I can still remember just the way you taste." He sighed again. "It's been a while since I've said I'm sorry. But I am." He couldn't think of anything else to say and pressed end. 

He only hoped it wasn't too late.


	10. The Reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I've found a reason to show a side of me you didn't know_

"You've been different lately, Owen." Tosh remarked, as he set the heavy box she'd wanted from the archive on her worktable.

"Yeah?" He felt keenly away of Gwen watching them, listening.

Tosh nodded. "Less snarky thank usual. More helpful. Dare I say it, nicer."

A smile crept across his face and he glanced at his worn trainers before responding. "I've found a reason for me to change who I used to be," he finally said and walked away.

His path took him over to Gwen's desk. He put his hands on the arms of her chair, preventing her escape. Owen's eyes met Gwen's and then he spoke. "The reason is you."


	11. Better Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Lord, I'm doing all I can to be a better man._

They were on their first "date" since the SUV incident. Owen took Gwen to a tiny Italian restaurant on the far outskirts of the city. He'd worn a suit and used every bit he'd learned about chivalry from Diane. He held the door for Gwen, opened the car door for her, held out her chair. 

At the end of the night, instead of taking her back to his flat, he dropped her off at her car, still parked in the Torchwood parking garage. Owen kissed her chastely and waited for Gwen to get in her car and start it up. He climbed back into his own car with a sigh. Lord, he was doing all he could to be a better man.


	12. Hero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _I can be your hero, baby. I can kiss away the pain._

Gwen huddled in the corner of the small room, her hands growing numb from the tight cords wrapped around her wrists.

She could hear her captors moving about above her. She thought briefly of another escape attempt, but the last one had only earned her getting her ankles tied together and discarded the idea.

From snatches of overheard conversation, Gwen had deduced that she'd been kidnapped to be sold into slavery of some sort in a place called Raffalion Prime. Gwen had also come to the conclusion that Raffalion Prime was not located on Earth. Or even in this galaxy. That and the fact that one of her captors had fuchsia colored skin helped her come to her conclusions.

The noise from upstairs grew louder. She could hear shouts and what sounded like struggle. The door flew open and Fuchsia Man, as she had come to think of him, rushed down the stairs. He towered over her, a gun-like weapon in his hand. He raised it toward her and Gwen shut her eyes tightly.

The noise of the shot startled her. Gwen had always assumed aliens would have developed silent weapons. This sounded like a normal Earth gun.

Hands touched her face and she opened her eyes. She hadn't been shot.

Owen knelt beside her, his expression a mix of ferocity and relief. Gwen could see just the legs of Fuchsia Man on the floor behind him. Tears rolled silently down her cheeks in her joy at seeing Owen.

Without a word, Owen pulled out a pocket knife and cut her bonds. He frowned at the angry red marks left on her wrists by the cords. He lifted her wrists, first one and then the other, to his lips and softly kissed the marks, as if he could kiss away the pain.

Gwen threw her arms around him, burying her head in the crook of his neck. She felt him slide one arm around her back and the other under her knees, lifting her up, carrying her out of her prison.

"Thank you," she whispered, lifting her head to look at him.

He gave her a sidelong glance and a grin. "I can be your hero," he told her.

She nodded. "You are."


	13. Too Much in Love to Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _If we are fools, well, we're too much in love to care._

"We're crazy, you know."

Owen glanced at Gwen. She chewed nervously on her thumbnail, watching the water move in the bay. "Why?"

"By rights, I should hate you. My life was set, Rhys, kids, making DC someday. Maybe even DI." She looked at the ground.

"Hey, if you were smart, you'd walk out of my life as fast as you can. I'm a total screw up and a bastard to boot. You're falling for the wrong kind of man, sweetheart." He didn't look at her as he spoke, but she could tell he only half meant it.

Leaning back against the bench, she sighed. "One kiss. That’s all it took to throw away all my plans."

"Yeah?" Owen stole at look at her out of the corner of his eyes.

She nodded and leaned towards him. "You know what?" He shook his head. "I'm too much in love to care."

Owen slid his hand into Gwen's hair and kissed her, wordlessly telling her everything she needed to know.


	14. I Will Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _'Til the storms fill my eyes and we touch the last time, I will love you._

Owen held Gwen's left hand in his, a thin band of gold in the fingers of his other hand. His eyes never left hers as he spoke. 

" 'Til my body is dust. 'Til my soul is no more. I will love you. I will stay for all time. And I give my heart 'til the end of all time. Forever and a day." He slid the ring onto her finger, feeling the cool metal against the warmth of her skin.

Gwen took his hand, a larger ring in hers. " 'Til the storms fill my eyes and we touch the last time. I will love you. I will stay for all time. And I give my heart 'til the end of all time. Forever and a day." She struggled a little to push his ring over his knuckle, before it slid into place. 

"You may now kiss the bride," the officiate proclaimed joyfully.

Owen cupped Gwen's face in his hands and kissed his wife softly and sweetly. She wrapped her arms around him and for a moment in time, the couple became lost in each other.


	15. Unexpected Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Now, no matter where I am, no matter what I do, I see your face appearing. Like an unexpected song, an unexpected song that only we are hearing._

Owen surfed the Internet absently, checking eBay and a couple other auction sites for alien artifacts. Laughter from across the room caught his attention and looked in its direction.

Gwen stood near Ianto, laughter making her face light up. She looked beautiful. Owen felt his breath catch in his chest. 

It was so unlike him. He'd never really felt like this before. No matter where he was or what he was doing, he thought of her. Clichéd as it was, for him, seeing her was like hearing an unexpected song when you only expected silence.

***

Gwen laughed at Ianto's story. Without looking, she could feel Owen watching her. He made her so confused. Before Owen, Gwen had always thought she'd been in love with Rhys. But now, this was so much stronger, so much more. Looking up briefly, she met Owen's eyes and nearly gasped. He looked at her as though he couldn't bear to lose her. She couldn't remember Rhys ever looking at her that way.

She smiled softly at him and he smiled back. Then Ianto touched her shoulder to get her attention and they both went back to their work.


	16. Gorecki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _If I should die this very moment, I wouldn't fear. For I've never know completeness like being here._

"NO!" Gwen screamed, dashing across the open space to where Owen had fallen. "Oh, God," she half-exclaimed, half-sobbed when she saw the blood spreading across his t-shirt.

She grabbed his kit and tore the bag open, looking for gauze pads or anything to help stop the blood. "God, Owen, open your eyes, please," she begged him, lifting his shirt and pressing the large gauze against the wound as hard as she could.

His eyes flew open. "Jesus," he breathed. Her eyes held his and she could see how much pain he felt. "This is a bad one," he muttered, lifting his head to look down at his stomach. "Stomach shot. Painful and slow."

Gwen's laugh bordered on the hysterical. With one hand, she awkwardly lifted his head into her lap. "You're going to be fine. Ambulance is on the way." Owen shook his head and she nodded in response. "It is. Don't get all fatalistic on me now." She glanced down at the gauze and suddenly wished she hadn't. The white pad had already turned a vibrant red. With one hand, she unwrapped another and put it over the first. Her other hand stroked his hair. 

Owen watched her with pain glazed eyes. "Can we stay right here until the Earth stops turning?"

"Sure," she sniffled. They fell silent, waiting for help to arrive.

After a while, Owen's eyes slid shut. Gwen gave him a little shake, alarmed. His eyes fluttered open and focused on her. "If I died this very moment," she started to protest, but he feebly lifted a hand to her lips, "I wouldn't fear."

"Don't say that," she exclaimed and he shushed her again.

"All this time I've loved you and never knew your face. I've searched everywhere for you, and you were right in front of me all along." His eyes unfocused for a moment, staring at the sky, before coming back to her. "I'm going to love you until the seas run dry. That okay?" He coughed and she held onto him tighter.

He'd stopped making sense and that scared her. "Yeah. That's fine." Tears now ran freely down her face.

"Good," he sighed and his eyes slid shut.

Gwen became alarmed. "Owen? Owen!" she yelled, trying to rouse him. She touched the pulse in his throat and found it weak and unsteady.

"You're the one I've waited for," Gwen pressed her lips to his forehead. "You can't leave me now," she whispered.

A siren announced the arrival of the ambulance. The paramedics ran to her side with a gurney, asking her to move aside. She hovered around them, watching as they worked on Owen before they moved him to the gurney and wheeled him away. She ran after them, climbing into the ambulance just before the doors were closed.

***

Jack ran into the waiting room. He saw Gwen slumped in one of the chairs, staring at the ceiling. Her eyes looked red and puffy and he knew she'd been recently crying.

"Gwen?" he called gently.

She turned her head to him, tears slowly dripping over her cheeks. "Jack," she breathed in relief, throwing herself into his arms.

"Honey, is he . . .? Will he . . .?" he started, unable to ask the questions.

"He's alive," she cried. "He's in recovery."

Jack laughed and hugged Gwen, lifting her off her feet. "Thank god," he said into her hair.

Gwen nodded, silently echoing Jack's prayer, thanking God for not taking the man she loved.


	17. She's the One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _If there's somebody calling me on she's the one._

Owen leaned against the bar, sipping his beer, watching his coworkers laugh and joke a little way away.

He particularly watched one member of the team. Gwen's laugh floated higher than the others, making it so much easier for him to pick out than anyone else's.

When he stopped and thought about it, Owen felt something like amazement that Gwen even looked twice at him. He'd never really been her type. But she loved him and for that, Owen could say he was eternally grateful to the fates for pushing them together.

Jack sat down beside him, water in hand. "She's gorgeous," he said after a moment. 

"Back off, Harkness," Owen growled.

Jack laughed and sipped his water like his glass held fine single malt. "Easy. I'm not making a move for Gwen."

"Good." Owen went back to staring at her.

A large, heavy hand dropped onto his shoulder and squeezed. "However," Jack's breath was hot in his ear, "if you ever do anything to hurt her, I will make it my personal mission to make the rest of your career at Torchwood a living hell." The hand disappeared. "And," he added, "I will kick your scrawny ass. Understood?"

Owen looked at Jack. His eyes contained no joking or anger at his boss's threat. "Jack, she's the one," he said simply. To him, it explained everything.


End file.
